Andrew Stowell

Posted 03-04-2014 04:38 PM

I bought my first race suit and I need to sew at least the SCCA patch on it, probably the MAZDA one too. How do I sew it without damaging the suit?

I know I need to only sew to the outer layer, but that's easier said then done. I'm not exactly a tailor, should I get someone to sew it for me? I'm not sure who would do that. I'm worried a regular tailor could misunderstand and sew through all the layers.

I bought some Nomex velcro and Nomex thread. I was planning on sewing a patch of velcro to the suit and the other side of the velcro to the SCCA patch. That way when I race with NASA later I can just switch it out. Has anyone ever tried this before?

The suit I bought has cuffs that cover my shoes. The suit fits great, but the cuffs nearly touch the ground. Is there any reason I shouldn't fold up a half inch or so of the cuff and sew it? I don't want the cuffs dragging on the ground and getting dirty or torn.

Mike Collins

Posted 03-04-2014 04:43 PM

Mike Collins

Big Cheese

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Location:Summit Point Motorsports Park

Region:Washington DC

Car Number:75

There are two school of thought on the patches... First sew with regular cotton thread only through the outer layer, the stitching will burn and the patch which is not fireproof will fall off. If you sew all the way thru I've "heard" rumors of having the stitch marks burned on your skin. Second use the nomex thread and the patch will burn up on your suit before it falls off.

If you have a NOMEX thread a good tailor should be able to do the alterations to your inseam on your suit.

Alberto

Posted 03-04-2014 05:01 PM

Alberto

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1,251 posts

Location:Mountain View, CA

Region:SFR

Car Year:1990

fwiw, I totally forgot about patches until the day before my gear was scheduled to be tech'ed. The GCR says that the patch is required... So I improvised. I had some 3M spray adhesive in the garage. Sprayed it on the patch. Attached it to the suit. Put a weight on top of it and let it dry. I don't remember that anyone ever checked for the patch.

Scott Krzastek

Posted 08-28-2014 04:22 PM

FWIW when I did race both groups I never had anyone call me on not covering driver suit patches. Stickers on the car yes but patches no.

That's not to say an over-zealous steward with a hard-on for patches in your area won't enforce the rule.

I did..... In fact I was pulled off of false grid (5 minutes before race start) by an NCR-SCCA grid worker because we could see the corners of the NASA patch on my suit (while I was strapped in the car, with a HANS on......) and had to find something to cover it up with.....

Andrew Stowell

Posted 09-03-2014 08:54 AM

Andrew Stowell

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Location:Hagerstown, MD

Region:WDCR

Car Year:1992

Car Number:92 SSM

Just to follow up. I used velcro for my patches and it works fine. I like being able to switch them instead of covering them up. You can use Nomex velcro and thread if you are concerned about it (I did) but cotton would probably have been fine too. I also hemmed the cuffs with Nomex thread.